Yankee first baseman tops major league home runs in 2020 Luke VoightHe hit 22 home runs that season, but the pandemic cut it to just 60 games. No other player in baseball had more than 19 hits in his career. He also reduced his strikeout rate, which was above his 25% over the past three seasons, to his 23.1%, just below the league average that year. 277/.338/.610 batting average he recorded his wRC+ of 153, indicating he was 53% better than the league average hitter. That number put him in the top 15 among all eligible hitters that season. He finished ninth in the American balloting for his league’s Most Valuable Player.
Voit still had four seasons of club control left, and it looked like the Yankees had a grip on first base for years to come. However, Voit has since entered choppy waters and gone off course several times. In 2021, he spent most of the year dealing with a knee injury and was only able to play 68 games. was 112. This was 12% above the league average, but a significant drop from Monster’s performance in 2020. He also increased his strikeout rate to 30.7%.Yankees win Anthony Rizzo He then re-signed him for 2022, replacing Voight in the Cold Corner. A few days later, Voight was traded to the Padres.
In 2022, he was largely healthy, going on the injured reserve list once in late April with a biceps tendon injury, but returned just over two weeks later. However, it did not improve his productivity at the plate. In his 82 games with the Flyers, Voight fired his ball 13 long but recorded strikeouts in 32% of appearances. His .225/.317/.416 batting average was above the league average, but only by 10%. At the deadline, he was unluckily thrown out. Juan Soto When trading last minute Eric Hosmer We got around that by using a restrictive no-deal clause.
Voit spent the second half with the worst team in baseball in 2022, the Nats, and saw production plummet. He hit nine more home runs in just his 53 games, but his walk percentage dropped from his 11.3% for the Padre to his 7.1% for the Nutts. His time at Washington resulted in a .228/.295/.381 line and his wRC+ in his 90. Voit was slated to arbitrate in his third of four trips as a Super 2 player this winter, but the Nationals did not bid him. Instead of paying him an $8.2 million salary, according to MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz’s predictions.
Voit has now been a free agent for about six weeks without much noise surrounding his market. There have been no public reports of any clubs interested in signing him. Given his lackluster year, that’s not all that shocking, but there’s still something he can bring to the table. It ranked 73rd in percentiles, hard hit rate, 75th in maximum shot speed, and 66th in average shot speed. He’s hit too many times in the last two seasons, but he can break the ball when he makes contact. Despite being right-handed, he was one of the most shifted hitters among remaining free agents, so he could also get a boost from an upcoming ban on extreme defensive placements. Voit has actually had a reverse split in his career, with 110 wRC+ against lefties and 129 against righties. While that can make platoon formation difficult, it also means it makes sense for him to be in the lineup on a regular basis.
Unfortunately, that’s all he can really offer. He’s certainly not a burner, with a 6th-percentile sprint speed and just one stolen base on his career roster.On defense, aside from his first inning in right field in 2018, he’s a major league I just played first base in the . With all three of his ratings above average outs, number of runs scored defensively, and ultimate zone he is considered to have been a below average defender to this point. in his career. He will turn 32 in February, but it’s unlikely things will suddenly turn around in that department.
There are still some teams that can hope to get their hands on Voit’s flyer and look more like the 2020 version than what he’s shown since then. The best candidate would probably be a rebuilding team hoping to turn Voight into a trade candidate following the resurrection. Voight said he has four to five years of service in the MLB, so arbitration could put him under control in 2024, which could increase his appeal if he’s in good shape. A has Seth Brown I’m a first baseman, but I can also be an outfielder.Marlins are known for looking for more offense, but he’s been injured frequently Garrett Cooper As a first baseman at the moment.They reportedly tracked down players like Jose Abreu, Justin Turner When Brandon Drury It was early in the offseason, but those attempts fell short.the tigers will probably give Spencer Torkelson Overtime to show that his terrible 2022 is just growing pains, but it makes some sense to have a backup plan. It is Eric Hosmer.
There are many theoretical fits, but Voit will be competing for those jobs. Features of the free agent market in addition to Hosmer Trey Mancini, Yuri Gurriel, brandon belt, Dominic Smith others.
